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Original poster

What do you consider to be a "life changing" sum of money?

146 replies

HaaaaaveyoumetTed · 03/12/2021 14:56

Just that really.

Inspired by another thread where someone won on the pools, and people saying "if it's a life changing sum?"

So what would be a life changing sum to you? I think for me, it'd be enough to pay off my mortgage, which is sizeable.

OP posts:
Shehasadiamondinthesky · 03/12/2021 16:12

I have everything I want but for me it life changing would be enough to buy my son a home and provide a fat pension, say a million pounds.

macshoto · 03/12/2021 16:12

Life changing would need to be at least £1m (and more likely £2m+) but that's in the context of being fortunate enough to earn c. £0.5m a year (albeit sole income earner in our household).

Bunnyfuller · 03/12/2021 16:13

Honestly? Right now 1k.

Would dramatically change Christmas for us, just for once.

Vanishun · 03/12/2021 16:14

I think I'm poorer than some of you.

Some lowly little sum like £10k in a bank account would be amazing - how relaxed you could be!

hotmeatymilk · 03/12/2021 16:16

£1m. I often daydream of that win on the lottery – bigger is boring to dream about because it pays for everything, so there’s no trade-off or calculations to do. But one mil would:

Pay off our mortgage
Let us move and trade up to a sizeable period house
Ensure our pensions are bang on
Big big savings for DC future

So then we’d only need to work for bills/pin money/lifestyle – not interested in private school, luxury holidays, flash things. Just want more time so I can potter in the garden, read books, sew, write, enjoy life.

TooWicked · 03/12/2021 16:16

This is why only wealthy people win Who Wants to be a Millionaire
????

@BarbaraofSeville I’m guessing what the PP means is it’s because wealthy people are far more willing to risk taking a punt on answering the question and losing a smaller sum of money, because it’s not life changing for them. They wouldn’t be upset at losing 50or 100k, they’d risk it because it’d be neither here nor there really.

MrsFin · 03/12/2021 16:16

Enough to pay off my mortgage, so a quarter of a million.
More is good, but I wouldn't want tens of millions.

Cassimin · 03/12/2021 16:16

StarlightStarlight Please come back to tell us nosey Parker’s or are you out spending your money???Smile

Potplant · 03/12/2021 16:19

£100k would pay off my mortgage giving me an extra £400 per month.
I need an income of around £2k per month to pay my bills, fund my DCs and have nice stuff without having to worry about the cost. No idea what that relates to in terms of never work again amounts, but probably not less than £1m.

Alarae · 03/12/2021 16:20

Probably £2 million.

£1 million at 4% safe withdrawal rate would equal £40k net- to match my DH's take home we would need 25K, so that £1m would theoretically replace his job so he can swan off and do what he likes.

£400k would pay off the mortgage, small debts and extension for the house.

Remaining £600k would let me go part time if I wanted but also act as a nice safety net/splurge pot.

PurBal · 03/12/2021 16:20

Enough to not have to work, worry about money and leave enough to the DC. So maybe a few million.

Megan1992xx · 03/12/2021 16:22

@TooWicked

This is why only wealthy people win Who Wants to be a Millionaire ????

@BarbaraofSeville I’m guessing what the PP means is it’s because wealthy people are far more willing to risk taking a punt on answering the question and losing a smaller sum of money, because it’s not life changing for them. They wouldn’t be upset at losing 50or 100k, they’d risk it because it’d be neither here nor there really.

And the same reason in Deal or no Deal the Banker always offers significantly less than the expected return on the basis of the boxes remaining and mathematical expectation. The demographic of 'poorer' people contesting who think relatively trivial amounts of money are life changing, means they often take the skewed offer.
Sensateria · 03/12/2021 16:22

My husband sold his business a few years ago for a lottery win sum of money.

Financial freedom has changed our lives in terms of anxiety or stress about lack of money but our day to day lives honestly haven’t changed all that much.

We’ve invested most of the money and both still work. We need our investments to be earning enough interest to match our current lifestyle, but actually when we retire we’ll probably need more money for all of the holidays and activities and events and things we’d like to do.

BarryTheKestrel · 03/12/2021 16:22

Half a million. I could pay off debts, buy a decent sized house and pay for DH to learn to drive again.

Softwonder · 03/12/2021 16:25

It would need to be £3m+ to make a proper difference to my life.

Bobbybobbins · 03/12/2021 16:25

We received £50k from my uncle's estate and it has been life changing in that it has allowed us to pay off our mortgage. However it's not changed our day to day lives in any other way.

MajorCarolDanvers · 03/12/2021 16:26

To be life changing I would need enough to pay off the mortgage and to either stop working entirely or move to only working part of the year in interim roles. Maybe spend the other half of the year in the Canaries.

I would probably need at least half a million to do that.

But I would be happy with any kind of windfall

iamtheoneandonlyyy · 03/12/2021 16:27

6000 would pay the debt my former partner left for me. I'd be so happy to just clear that

dalrympy · 03/12/2021 16:29

£170k would pay off my mortgage. Which would in turn leave me much more monthly money.

So that would be life changing as such.

But to be truly "life changing" I suppose I would need nearer to half a mil...

Ah the thought... right now just a couple of hundred a month extra would be pretty life changing

ImJustNotMeAnymore · 03/12/2021 16:30

About £65 million would do. That would set my family for life, no need to worry about anything ever. Having been pin broke and average income there is no such thing as enough.

TooWicked · 03/12/2021 16:35

About 10 million would allow DH and I to both quit work, set DS up for life, and earn enough interest on investing the money to maintain or improve our current lifestyle and treat family and friends to plenty of meals out, extra nice birthday and Christmas presents and a few holidays.

tiredanddangerous · 03/12/2021 16:38

200k would pay off the mortgage which would be nice.

JamMakingWannaBe · 03/12/2021 16:38

I like my life. Not sure I want to change it. £60k would pay off the mortgage so DH and I could go PT. That would be nice. Still need a decent pension for the future though so maybe £100k.

Kippersfortea · 03/12/2021 16:39

100k would change my life.
Actually right now £1000 would change my life Sad

HandlebarLadyTash · 03/12/2021 16:40

500k, I could retire from my current job, set up a pension & find a new part time job without the pressure of the current one.
I would love to spend more time with partner, kids, parents... before we get too old.
Day to day we are ok but time is passing so fast I haven't seen some of my brothers for years (overseas) I'm knackered all the time.